1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to gardening tools, and more particularly, to a lopper for pruning tree branches and leaves lying high.
2. Description of Related Art
A lopper is typically implemented to prune tree branches and leaves lying high, which is composed of a slender rod and a pair of shears mounted on the top of the rod. One general objective of loppers is to facilitate effort-saving operation. To achieve this objective, various mechanisms employing linkages and levers are applied to loppers, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,178,644 and 4,649,646. However, as the conventional lopper has the complexly structured and bulky shears mounted on the top of the rod, it would be difficult for a user to maintain the balance of the lopper while holding and operating the same. Besides, the heavy weight of the shears of the conventional lopper substantially burdens the user. Moreover, the intricate linkages and ropes settled around the shears are liable to get tangled with luxuriant branches and leaves where a user tries to stretch the shears through, therefore resulting in retarded efficiency of pruning.
One solution for the aforementioned conventional loppers has been disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,950,315. It is obvious that the shears of lopper of '315 Patent are more simplified and efficient as compared with those of the aforementioned conventional loppers. Nevertheless, linkage efficiency is not perfectly performed in '315 Patent because the distance between the point where the chain exerts a force on the blade and the pivot point is not long enough for facilitating effort-saving pruning. Therefore, the inventor of the present invention further enhances the keenness of the blades with the attempt to compensate for the short of effort-saving efficiency. Furthermore, as the rod of the '315 lopper has a fixed length which is not extendable, if a user wants to prune branches and leaves at a relatively higher location, a ladder has to be implemented to lift the user and this may disadvantageously render inconvenience and danger to the user.